Most electric apparatuses such as a card reader use a connecting cord such as a power cable or an interfacing cable for connecting with outside power sources or external components. These connecting cords may worsen the outer appearance of the electric apparatus when they are disposed on the front side of the main body of the apparatus or may become an obstacle for installation when they are disposed on the side part or the upper part. Therefore, most connecting cords are disposed to protrude toward the rear direction from the back of the main body of the apparatus like a tail of a mouse (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-168516).
Alternatively, some electric apparatuses including card readers may use a connector (plug part) of a power cable that is connected to the inlet part of the electric apparatus. In these electric apparatuses, a connector support means is sometimes used for locking the connected connector so as not to accidentally disengage the connector from the inlet part (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-168516).
The above-mentioned locking structure is constructed such that a main-body connector, to which a cable connector is connected, is provided on the outer wall face part of the main body case. Additionally, a locking member made of a sheet metal having a mounting part and an engagement part is fixed on the main body case with a screw located through a slot of the mounting part for locking the cable connector.
However, when the connecting cord protrudes straight toward the rear direction from the back of the main body of the apparatus, the mounting direction of the electric apparatus is limited or its installing location is restricted because a rear space is required in the electric apparatus. Also, when the connecting cord is a power cable, a user may sometimes designate the length, color, etc. and the conformable specification of the power cable without allowing the use of a common drawing/inserting type of power cable. In this case, since the power cable will not be easily changed, the management cost may increase.
Further, the main-body connector is provided on the outer wall face part of the main body case and a cable connector is connected to the main-body connector. Therefore, the cable connector protrudes outward from the main body case. In this case, the cable connector is engaged with an engaging member (locking member) and thus the engaging member is formed to extend outward from the main body case and a considerable space is required. Also, when the main body of the apparatus is installed in front of a wall, the power cable extending from the back of the apparatus abuts with the wall and bent, and thus heat may be generated or disconnection may occur.
Further, since the mounting part of the engaging member is fixed on the main body case with a screw, fixing work using a tool is required and the detaching of the screw and the loss of the fixing member may occur. Also, when an external force, for example, a force in the downward direction is applied to the engaging member, the engaging member may be easily deformed.